1983 - Snow and QE2 - Los Angeles and Universal Studios

Thursday 5 January 1984 – Los Angeles and Universal Studios

The original plan for today was to go to Knott’s Berry Farm and then to drive into Los Angeles tomorrow. However following the reaction to Disneyland yesterday, this plan was revised and we set off bright and early this morning on a bus tour of Los Angeles and Universal Studios. Since we were setting off at 08.20 and only returning after 18.30 we thought it wise that we should have a substantial breakfast, which we did. Eggs easy over, crispy bacon hash browns, pancakes and syrup – a right good meal and well worth the $18.00 we paid.

Star Wars footprints

The bus tour  cost us $75.00 for the three of us and was well worth it. The young lady doing the commentary was very interesting and was a fount of information. First stop was Grauman’s Chinese Theatre where Matt soon found his Star Wars footprints and Rab her Marilyn Monroe’s. We were very amused by Curtis who stands outside the theatre all day and every day, posing in a cowboy outfit and looking just like a waxwork. A woman was certain he was until he grabbed her which gave her one helluva fright. He spends his entire life there apparently – what a way to earn a living.

Marilyn Monroe's spot

After that we set off for a tour of the Stars’ Homes and Beverley Hills. The tour had been somewhat truncated as the bus companies have been harassed by the police acting on behalf of the rich and famous who are not too keen on having their privacy invaded. It was still very interesting seeing such sights as Khashoggi’s house, which as I recall was valued at about $2.5 million, standing derelict with paint peeling and the garden full of weeds. His wife apparently lives in the servant’s quarters as she waits for the settlement of her divorce proceedings when she was awarded 50% of the estate estimated at $81 million. (Khashoggi was an arms dealer involved in many other aspects of business. In retrospect his worth in the 80s is now estimated at $40 billion).

 

We were there! In Hollywood!

We also saw some of the few plots available in this area. One was about a quarter acre and had sold for $750,000. we were struck by how small the plots were and how close the houses were to each other. Our guide told us some interesting facts about the stores in the area, some of which only opened by appointment!

After that we set off for Universal Studios and the weather, which had looked a bit threatening when we left, cleared up and we were in sunshine again. Fortunately we were in shorts and T-shirts so we were OK. The Universal tour was well worth it despite problems we had with our tractors. Right from the start, when we ran into a Cylon ambush, Matt loved it.

The first area we visited was the sound studio where we were shown how special effects are achieved. All very interesting especially as Rab and I volunteered for a demonstration and landed up being cast as Buck Rogers and his partner piloting a spaceship through the asteroid belt. Matt said we were very good – if a little fat.

Matt meets the monster

The next hour was also excellent as we toured the sets. Although we knew what to expect, it was all very well done. We were left with three hours to amuse ourselves in the shops and entertainment area. We saw a couple of good shows with the stuntmen and the animal trainers. The latter featured, amongst others Boomer and he was very good indeed and obviously loved his work. There were also some very clever birds, two of which flew out into the audience and performed their tricks there. Rab and Matt managed to look into every shop and we came away with three more T-shirts and some stickers. (Although I don’t record it in my journal we also met a couple of conmen – can you have a conwoman? Matt had bought a couple of posters and they offered to mail them for us. We handed over the postage and never saw the posters again.) We also met a lad from Cape Town there who overheard us speaking and recognised our accents. He was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Terry in trouble

We made it back to the bus by 16.15 and off we went back to Anaheim. We took a longer route back – about twenty miles longer – to save about twenty minutes by avoiding the crowded rush hour filled freeways. I would hate to see what they were like because we were on a six lane highway which was bumper to bumper for the best part of an hour. Rab was fascinated to see the police arrest a lad as we paused at a traffic light on our way home – she thought he was being mugged at first.

We got back safely at about 18.15 and I nipped down to the corner shop for some beers. We were parched as we only had one drink and a quick hot dog at Universal. Rab was very keen on having a Chinese meal this evening so we went down to Fu-Ling’s place (no fooling!!) and had a very nice meal for about $27.00, although Matt managed to spill the soup over himself.

We have decided to give Knott’s Berry Farm a complete miss and shoot through tomorrow, spending the night up the coast somewhere.